Do Christian schools produce good citizens? In an era of heightened political polarization and increasing interest in politics among young people in the U.S., it is vitally important that Christian parents show their children how citizens of heaven live in their temporary homes. Christian schools are partners in this work.
My colleagues at the University of Arkansas and I conducted a “study of studies,” or meta-analysis, to examine empirically whether public or private schools have an advantage over the other sector in terms of their students’ civic engagement. We found that attending a private school, compared to a public school, is associated with a modest 0.055 standard deviation increase in civic engagement (which included measures of political tolerance, political participation, civic knowledge/skills, and voluntarism/social capital).
Interestingly, this association between private schooling and civic engagement is a bit stronger when you examine only Protestant Christian schools–0.07 of a standard deviation. Whether by nature of the backgrounds students come from or through the influence of their schooling experiences or both, Christian school students tend to be a little more involved in civic affairs compared to their public and secular private school counterparts.
This finding raises the question: should we pat ourselves on the back for our students being more civically engaged, period–or should we investigate what type of civic engagement our schools are inculcating in students?
Is all civic engagement good civic engagement?
Scripture is full of commands to pursue holiness, as God is holy, and this holiness manifests in every area of life. We love our neighbor (Matt. 22:39), we pursue justice (Micah 6:8, Is. 1:17), we care for the vulnerable (James 1:27), we submit to governing authorities (Rom. 13), we repent of the ways we have fallen short of God’s holiness (Prov. 28:13) as we live in a given country.
Scripture is also full of examples of unholy civic engagement, which God punished. Consider the prideful people who attempted to subvert God’s commands and “improve society” by constructing the tower of Babel (Gen. 11) or the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah who fostered a culture of promiscuity in rebellion against God’s design for human sexuality (Gen. 19). These examples are just from the first book of the Bible.
Our civic engagement must not simply follow the ways of this world, but rather, reflect the character of God.
So, no— according to patterns in God’s Word, not all civic engagement is good civic engagement. While discussing cultural and political issues is important, what you say and how you say it is arguably more important. While engaging in the democratic process is a good thing, who you vote for matters. While volunteering and giving to charity can be a good thing, it is not inherently so. Our civic engagement must not simply follow the ways of this world, but rather, reflect the character of God.
So then, do Christian schools inculcate good civic engagement in students? Admittedly, I have no data to bring to the table regarding how Christian schools are inculcating civic engagement in their students; this is an area I’d like to investigate. However, there are four things that I hope Christian educators do.
1. Clearly and frequently proclaim the gospel to students.
Scripture is clear that until we experience saving faith in Christ, we are dead in our sins and at enmity with God. How can we participate in civic engagement in a way that glorifies God if we are His enemies? How can we represent His kingdom on earth if we are not part of His kingdom? We should not be surprised when students leave Christian schools and advocate for policies that are antithetical to Scripture given that we know that God will say to many who seemed to be Christians, “I never knew you” (Matt. 7:21-23).
The true hope for our students’ future as citizens is not a better president, better policies, better sociocultural conditions, or a better economy. It is not even for America or any other country to be a “Christian nation” or a country where all policies reflect the moral law of God. Our students’ only hope is restoration to God through Jesus Christ. This is not just our students’ only hope, but the world’s only hope.
True justice and peace will not reign on the earth until Jesus returns, but we can participate in God’s redemptive work here and now by being ambassadors of reconciliation and proclaiming the gospel as the only true solution to the problems in this world (2 Cor. 5:19-21), starting in our classrooms.
2. Teach the whole counsel of Scripture.
It might seem obvious, but we cannot have truly biblical policy opinions without knowing the whole Bible. The Bible is not, however, simply a manual for creating good public policy or a blueprint for healthy civic engagement. It is the inerrant Word of God and therefore our standard for truth.
After our hearts are regenerated through salvation, Christians grow in understanding of who God is and what His character is like by studying His Word. In turn, we grow to love Him and delight in Him more. When we love and delight in God, we seek His heart, will, and wisdom for our civic engagement, both through reading His Word and in prayer. Christian schools have the opportunity to shape students’ interactions with the Bible.
3. Model Christian civic engagement.
Christian schools should seek to make disciples as they educate students by proclaiming the gospel regularly and clearly and by teaching students to know every word from the mouth of God. But as Jesus demonstrated, making disciples also means modeling submission to the Father in all things. Students in Christian schools have a front-row seat to observe how the adults in their school live as a follower of Jesus Christ, for better or for worse. Christian school educators should reflect upon what kind of civic engagement students are seeing in their lives.
Let our students see us vote wisely for candidates, advocate for moral policies, write letters to the editor, speak on podcasts about injustices in our systems, and so on. But let them first see us acting as ambassadors of God’s kingdom, rooted in His embassies (local churches), by caring for our neighbors, giving generously, volunteering cheerfully, and showing the world the unifying, peace-bringing, love-bestowing power of the gospel. Most importantly, let them see us live out and spread the gospel, the only hope for humankind, from broken communities all the way up to broken political systems.
4. Provide a rigorous academic curriculum from a biblical perspective.
Of course, the reason Christian schools exist is to pass on the body of collective knowledge (an “education”) as understood from the view that the Bible is our starting place for all truth. Doing all things as unto the Lord, Christian schools should seek to provide an excellent, academically rigorous curriculum grounded in objective truth, not in political affiliations or other ideologies. Where Scripture and data have different interpretations, Christian school graduates should be able to think critically, debate thoughtfully, and disagree charitably.
Compared to other types of schools, Christian schooling seems to foster higher levels of civic engagement. However, not all civic engagement is good civic engagement. Whether Christian schools are effectively inculcating good civic engagement is an important question we should ask ourselves and study further.
One resource I recommend as we consider these questions is Jonathan Leeman’s How the Nations Rage. This book offers a helpful mindset shift away from partisan loyalty toward a distinctly Christian posture of civic engagement.
May Jesus return to find Christian schools faithfully showing students how citizens of heaven represent their King as they live as citizens on this earth.
